Cotton ginning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A driven conveyor ( 10 ) having an upper surface for receiving and transporting seed cotton in a forward direction of travel A comprises a plurality of spaced apart slats ( 20 ), each extending transversely relative to the direction of travel. Each slat ( 20 ) has an upper layer ( 22 ) of surface roughened material to which cotton fibre will adhere. The slats ( 20 ) are preferably mounted between a pair of substantially parallel endless chains ( 24 ), each formed of plural chain links ( 26 ) and having rollers ( 28 ) mounted thereto whereby the chains are guided along respective guide tracks ( 16 ) at each side of the machine frame ( 12 ). The transverse gaps between the respective slats ( 20 ) facilitate severance of seed by a transverse blade ( 40 ) which has a lower surface in contact with the upper surface of the conveyor, while the cotton fibre adheres to the slatted upper surface and is pulled through the pinch point between the blade ( 40 ) and the conveyor ( 10 ). An air flow chamber ( 50 ) is arranged above the blade ( 40 ) so that seed separated from the fibre at the pinch point can be removed transversely of the direction of travel of the conveyor ( 10 ). An air suction device ( 52 ) is provided at a location downstream of the blade ( 40 ), for removal of the fibre from said upper surface. Also disclosed are a blade mounting assembly ( 42 - 48 ) which includes a fluid actuated piston ( 46 ) arranged to resiliently bias the blade ( 40 ) so that the lower surface of the blade remains in floating contact with the upper surface of the conveyor ( 10 ). Also disclosed is a seed cotton feed assembly mounted upstream of the blade ( 40 ) in which a cylinder ( 32 ) having a plurality of radially projecting spikes ( 36 ) distributed over its surface is rotatably mounted inside a housing ( 30 ) adjacent and parallel to a fixed breaker blade ( 34 ) mounted inside the housing with a small gap there between. The position of the cylinder relative to the breaker blade ( 34 ) and the length and spacing of the spikes ( 36 ) are selected to distribute seed cotton evenly and at a predetermined thickness across the upper surface of the conveyor ( 10 ).

This invention relates to an apparatus for ginning cotton, the processof separating cotton lint (i.e., fibre) from seed after harvesting.

Traditionally, two main types of ginning apparatus have been employed,namely roller gins and saw gins. In a roller gin, for example asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,043, (Vandergriff) seed cotton is fed,via a hopper feed assembly, into contact with a roller having aroughened surface layer to which the fibres adhere and then dragged pasta fixed blade which is pressed into contact with the roller surface. Areciprocating knife above the fixed blade separates the seed from thefibre. The seed drops through a grid and the fibre is subsequentlystripped from the surface of the roller by a rotating bladed stripper.

Compared to a saw gin, a roller gin results in a better quality productas the fibre is well separated from the seed, relatively uncontaminatedwith broken seeds as is the case in a saw gin, and the fibre itselftends not to be torn and damaged, as is the case with a saw gin.However, the speed is far lower than with a saw gin owing to the limitedsize of a roller and the intermittent operation of the cutting knife.Roller gins are typically used for higher grade sea island or Egyptiancotton, which have longer fibres.

The roughened surface layer of the roller was traditionally leather. Inmore recent times the preferred material is a laminate of fifteen ormore layers of woven or knitted fabric sheets bonded together by polymerand then cut perpendicularly into strips in which the sheets areoriented perpendicular to the surface so that their edges form thesurface. These strips are bonded side by side to form the rollercovering. This material was sold under the trade name ‘Garlock’ byGarlock Inc of Palmyra, N.Y. It is now produced and sold under lessdistinctive trade names by Pirelli and Good Year.

In an attempt to increase yield/speed of operation compared to a rollergin, while maintaining high quality product, a proposal was made in U.S.Pat. No. 6,115,887 (Riter) for a linear gin system. In this a linearbelt flight having an upper surface of roughened high friction material,typically the aforesaid material, was described as being guided uponrollers to move past a blade extending transversely across the uppersurface in contact therewith, whereby seed would be stripped from thefibre as the fibre, which adhered to the upper surface was dragged belowthe blade, and later removed downstream of the blade via a suction typedoffing chamber.

Back up pressure rollers were described as being mounted below the beltat positions corresponding to respective blades in order to keep thebelt upper surface in contact with the respective blades.

Such a proposal is not believed to be workable and no practicalembodiment is known to the present applicant. The type of materialrequired for the belt upper run (as previously sold under the nameGarlock as mentioned above) is not sufficiently flexible or resilient tobe guided accurately as an endless belt in this way. Contact with thefixed blades could not be reliably achieved. Without contact the seedmay not be stripped. However, high pressure contact results infrictional temperature increases which leads not only to rapiddeterioration of the belt but more importantly a danger of ignition ofthe seed cotton so that the gin has to be shut down. Any damage to thebelt would, furthermore, require a full replacement, which would beexpensive. Therefore, operating and maintenance difficulties wouldpreclude the adoption of this style of ginning apparatus.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved gin ofsimple, reliable and economical construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gin which has a fibreoutput of a quality equal to or higher than a roller gin, but at higherrates of yield and/or lower maintenance cost.

As already outlined above, U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,887 discloses ginningapparatus for separating cotton seed from fibre comprising a drivenconveyor having a linear flight extending for linear movement in aforward direction of travel, said linear flight having an upper surfacefor receiving and transporting seed cotton, which upper surface isroughened so that cotton fibre will adhere to it, a blade extendingtransversely across said linear flight and having a lower surface incontact with said upper surface of said linear flight to define a pinchpoint therebetween so that adhesion of the cotton fibre to said flightupper surface pulls the fibre through the pinch point whilesimultaneously separating the fibre from the seed. An air doffingchamber is provided at a location downstream of the blade, extendingtransversely across said linear flight adjacent said upper surface forremoval of the fibre from said upper surface.

A first aspect of the present invention is characterised in that thedriven conveyor providing the linear flight comprises a plurality ofspaced apart slats, each extending transversely across said linearflight and each having a respective upper layer of surface roughenedmaterial to define thereby said linear flight upper surface, in whichrespect said upper surface is discontinuous by virtue of transverse gapsbetween the respective slat upper layers.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention, in contrast to theearlier proposal, does not employ a belt. The present invention employsa conveyor made up of a plurality of spaced apart slats. This results innumerous advantages, some of which are:

-   1. The slatted conveyor can be reliably, accurately, smoothly driven    in an endless path, and guided upon a track in its upper run so as    to keep the upper surface supported and level.-   2. If the upper surface layer material is damaged, only a strip for    covering a single slat or the relevant number of slats which are    damaged needs to be replaced, instead of a whole belt. Replacement    of the surface of one slat is far less costly and less difficult to    achieve than a whole belt.-   3. The size of the gaps between the slat upper surfaces can be    selected so that seeds of the supplied picked cotton tend to sit    across the top of these gaps and this facilitates the severance of    seeds from the fibre by the blade.-   4. The gaps between the slats allow for air flow upwards or    downwards through the conveyor, facilitating fibre removal from the    upper surface, by air blowing or suction, after severance of the    seeds.

A further (second) aspect of the invention is ginning apparatus forseparating cotton seed from fibre comprising a roughened surface forreceiving and transporting seed cotton in a forward direction of traveland a blade extending transversely across said surface relative to saiddirection of travel, said blade having a lower surface in contact withsaid roughened surface to define a pinch point therebetween so thatcotton fibre adhering to said roughened surface is pulled through thepinch point and the seed can be separated therefrom above the blade,characterised by provision of a mounting assembly mounting said blade,said mounting assembly including a fluid actuated piston arranged toresiliently bias the blade so that the lower surface of the bladeremains in floating contact with said roughened surface.

Such a blade mounting assembly is not limited to use in a linear ginningapparatus employing a conveyor formed of plural spaced apart slats. Thisblade mounting assembly, which includes a fluid actuated piston forresiliently biaising the blade, could be used in any other known or yetto be devised gin.

The lower surface of the blade may have a rear region formed with arecess so that only a blade tip portion of its lower surface is incontact with said roughened surface.

A further (third) aspect of the invention is ginning apparatus forseparating cotton seed from fibre comprising a roughened surface forreceiving and transporting seed cotton in a forward direction of traveland a blade extending transversely across said surface relative to saiddirection of travel, said blade having a lower surface in contact withsaid roughened surface to define a pinch point therebetween so thatcotton fibre adhering to said roughened surface is pulled through thepinch point and the seed can be separated therefrom above the blade,characterised by provision of a seed cotton feed assembly mountedupstream of the blade, said assembly comprising a housing into whichseed cotton is supplied and having an outlet extending transversely ofthe direction of the travel of the roughened surface, a cylinderrotatably mounted inside the housing and having an axis extendingtransversely of the direction of travel of the roughened surface and abreaker blade mounted inside the housing and extending parallel to thecylinder axis, the cylinder having a plurality of radially projectingspikes distributed over its surface, the position of the cylinderrelative to the breaker blade and the length and spacing of the spikesbeing selected to distribute seed cotton evenly and at a predeterminedthickness across the roughened surface.

Such a feed assembly is not limited to use in a linear ginning apparatusemploying a conveyor formed of plural spaced apart slats. This feedassembly, which includes a spiked roller co-operating with a fixedbreaker blade, could be used in any other known or yet to be devisedgin.

The position of the cylinder relative to the breaker blade and thelength and spacing of the spikes may be selected to distribute seedcotton at a thickness less than twice the size of the cotton seed sothat only a single seed is fed onto the roughened surface at anytransverse position.

The radially projecting spikes are preferably distributed over thesurface of the cylinder in a plurality of circumferentially spacedlongitudinally arranged rows, alternate rows being displacedlongitudinally (axially) of the cylinder relative to adjacent rows.

The various aspects of the present invention will be described further,by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation of a practical embodiment ofapparatus in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the conveyor of the apparatus of FIG.1 in isolation;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged side view of a small portion of theconveyor;

FIG. 4 is a view of similar enlarged scale to FIG. 3 showing the linksand rollers of the conveyor from the underside;

FIG. 5 is an end view of a single pair of links and rollers of theconveyor to a similar enlarged scale to FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the same conveyoras shown in FIGS. 1 to 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a single slat of the same conveyor inisolation;

FIGS. 8 to 10 are corresponding plan, inverted side and inverted endviews of the same individual slat;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale compared to FIG. 1,of two blade assemblies and the supporting tracks of the apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is an end view, from the rear or downstream end, of one of theblade assemblies and supporting tracks of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary schematic side view showing, to an enlargedscale, a portion of the conveyor and one of the blade assemblies andassociated cotton feed assemblies of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the spiked cylinder of FIG. 13 inisolation; and

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 13 illustrating the ginning station inoperation.

The drawings illustrate a practical embodiment of cotton ginningapparatus which incorporates all aspects of the present invention.

Referring firstly to FIG. 1, this embodiment comprises a driven endlessconveyor, designated generally by reference numeral 10, which issupported upon a frame 12 and guided in an endless loop aroundrespective concentric pairs of sprockets 14. One of these sprocket pairsis driven, typically by an electric motor (not shown), while the othersprocket pair is an idler. Thus the upper section 11 of the endlessconveyor 10 constitutes a linear flight extending for linear movement ina forward direction of travel, indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1. Theconveyor 10 comprises a plurality of spaced apart slats 20, eachextending transversely relative to the direction of travel A andsubstantially parallel to each other. Each slat 20 has a respectiveupper layer 22 of surface roughened material, typically of the type ofmaterial described in the introduction above as being previously soldunder the Garlock trade name. Thus as the slatted conveyor passes alongthe upper section of its endless path, the respective slat upper layers22 define an upper surface for receiving and transporting seed cotton.The adjacent slat upper layers 22 have transverse gaps between them,corresponding to the slats 20 on which they are supported, so the uppersurface of the linear flight onto which the seed cotton is fed isdiscontinuous.

Two ginning stations, where seed cotton is fed to the conveyor 10 andthe seed is stripped from the lint (fibre) are shown in FIG. 1 and aredesignated generally by reference letter G. It will be understood thatany suitable number of such stations can be provided in the apparatus inaccordance with the invention, and two are illustrated here only by wayof example. At each station G seed cotton is supplied to the conveyor 10from a feed assembly housing 30, which will be described in greaterdetail below. Also at each station G a blade 40 extends transverselyacross the linear flight of the conveyor 10. A lower surface of theblade 40 is held in contact with the upper surface of the conveyor 10 todefine a pinch point there between so that adhesion of the cotton fibreto the roughened surface layer of the slats 20 pulls the fibre throughthe pinch point while the blade simultaneously separates the seed fromthe fibre. An air flow chamber 50 is arranged above the blade 40. An airblower (not shown) directs air through this chamber 50, transversely ofthe direction of travel A of the conveyor 10 so that seed separated fromthe fibre at the pinch point is removed transversely of the direction oftravel of the linear flight and collected in a receptacle (not shown) atone end of the chamber 50.

FIGS. 2 to 10 show the structure of the conveyor 10 and its individualparts in greater detail. As best shown in FIG. 6, the side by side slats20 are mounted between a pair of chains 24. Each chain 24 is formed of aseries of paired links 26 pivotally connected to each other byrespective pins 28, and rollers 29 are fitted to the ends of these pins28, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The structure of each individual slat 20 is shown in FIGS. 7 to 10. Thebasic slat 20 is suitably made of steel with the upper surface layer 22(not shown in FIGS. 6 to 10) attached by fasteners (bolts) extendingthrough the steel base, fixing holes for which are evident in FIGS. 7 to10. The surface layer 22 consists of a strip of the previously discussedroughened surface material of a size to match the size of the steelbase. Suitable dimensions for the slat are 3 inches×24 inches(approximately 25×60 cm), and a thickness of ¾ inches (approximately 1.9cm) of which the steel base may be about ¼ inches (0.64 cm) and theupper layer 22 the remainder. These dimensions are merely given by wayof example and could be varied in other embodiments of the invention.Each slat 20 has a pair of mounting blocks 21, one near each end. Formounting to the chains 24, these blocks 21 are inserted between therespective paired links 26 and bolted in position there to arrive at thestructure shown in FIG. 6 with a respective slat 20 extending betweeneach consecutive corresponding link pair 26 of the respective chains 24at each side of the conveyor.

Each chain 24 is guided by means of the rollers 29 around a respectivesprocket 14 at each end of the linear upper flight. Thus as mentionedpreviously, there is a concentric pair of sprockets 14 at each end ofthe conveyor and one of these pairs is driven, thereby driving theconveyor 10. Such sprockets may have a diameter of 24 inches(approximately 60 cm) and operate at a speed of 100 rpm. Again thesefigures are provided only by way of example and may vary in otherembodiments of the invention.

In its upper flight the conveyor 10, specifically the rollers 29 of eachchain 24 are supported and guided along respective substantiallyhorizontal tracks 16, best shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, which extendinwardly from main side beams 15 of the supporting frame 12. Suchsupport ensures that the upper surface of the conveyor 10, itself formedof successive rigid slats 20, is, in its upper flight, held correctlyand consistently level and that the conveyor is able to travel at thehigh speeds required without tracking problems. Speeds of 200 m/min maytypically be achieved.

The gaps between the adjacent slats of the conveyor 10 are set atbetween 2.5 mm and 7.5 mm. A preferred range is between 1/8 and ¼ inches(3.1 and 6.4 mm), and about ⅛ inch (3.1 mm) is probably preferred. Thesize of the gap is preferably matched to be slightly less than themaximum dimension of the seed of the relevant variety of cotton which isto be processed by the machine. When the seed cotton is feed onto thesurface during operation of the machine, the seeds tend to sit acrossthe tops of the gaps, and be tossed up and more effectively cut apartfrom the fibre when the blade 40 is encountered.

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 illustrate in greater detail the mounting of theblade 40 of each ginning station G. The blade 40 is typically made ofsteel. Its mounting is achieved at each station G by a blade mountingassembly, designated generally by reference numeral 42, which extendstransversely across the linear flight of the upper run of the conveyor10. The blade 40 is attached by way of a holder structure 44, to thepistons 46 of three air cylinders 48, which are synchronously operatedto apply a predetermined even pressure to the blade 40 so that a lowersurface of the blade 40 makes contact with the upper surface layer 22 ofthe slats 20. Although three cylinders 48 are shown here, any numbersuitable to particular machine requirements may be provided in otherembodiments. Such biasing action of the air cylinders 48 allows theblade 40 to remain in ‘floating’ contact with the conveyor surface, inthat a rigid mounting of the blade, forcing it with some pressure intocontact against the surface, as in previously known ginning apparatus,is avoided. This reduces frictional wear on the belt surface, andreduces heating of the conveyor and of the cotton fed thereto as occursas a result of the friction between blade and surface. Moreover, itreduces the possibility of gaps arising between the blade and thesurface owing to slight unevenness in the roughened surface, and therebyleads to more reliable stripping of fibre and higher purity of product.

Laterally projecting end portions 45 of the blade holder structure 44extend above and rest upon the main side beams 15 of the supportingframework 12 at each side of the conveyor upper run, as best shown inFIGS. 11 and 12. The upper surface layer 22 of the slats 20 is graduallyworn away by contact with the blade or blades 40 and then has to bereplaced. The distance at which the blade holder structure 44 is heldabove the conveyer surface by the aforesaid mounting arrangement and themaximum permissible extension of the pistons 46 from the air cylinders48 is such that the blade 40 will no longer be able to contact theconveyor upper surface when the surface layer 22 has been worn down toits minimum workable thickness, which may be about 2 mm. This is asafety measure to prevent the possibility of contact between the ironblade 40 and the steel slat base which could result in a fire hazard.

As best seen in FIG. 13, the blade 40 is mounted by the holder structure44 at an angle relative to the conveyor upper surface so that only ablade tip portion of its lower surface is in contact with said uppersurface. The angle relative to the conveyor surface may be slight, forexample in the region of 2 degrees. This enhances the above mentionedadvantages of reducing frictional wear and heating.

Also as shown in FIG. 13, the lower surface of the blade 40 has a rearregion (in the direction away from the tip) formed with a recess. Such arecess may be less than 1 mm in depth. Again this means that only ablade tip portion of its lower surface is in contact with the uppersurface of the conveyor and enhances the above mentioned advantages ofreducing frictional wear and heating.

The feed assembly housing 30 which is mounted just upstream of the bladeassembly 42 in the direction of travel A of the conveyor upper run isillustrated schematically in FIG. 13. The housing 30, into which seedcotton is supplied has an outlet extending transversely of the directionof the travel of the conveyor 10. A cylinder 32, which has its axisextending transversely of the direction of travel A of the conveyor, isrotatably mounted inside the housing 30. A breaker blade 34 is alsomounted inside the housing 30. This blade 34 extends parallel to theaxis of the cylinder 32 and is shown here projecting downwards towardsthe cylinder 32.

The cylinder 32 has a plurality of radially projecting spikes 36distributed over its surface. These spikes 36 are arranged in aplurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinally arranged rows,alternate rows being displaced longitudinally (axially of the cylinder32) relative to adjacent rows, as shown in FIG. 14.

As the cylinder 32 rotates, there is a gap between the ends of thespikes 36, and the breaker blade 34. This gap is preferably about ¼inches (0.64 cm), but is selected to suit the variety of cotton beingprocessed. The position of the cylinder 32 relative to the breaker blade34 and the length and spacing of the spikes 36 are selected todistribute seed cotton evenly and at a predetermined thickness acrossthe linear flight, i.e. the upper surface of the conveyor 10. Ideallythese parameters are selected to distribute seed cotton at a thicknessless than twice the size of the cotton seed so that only a single seedis fed onto the linear flight at any transverse position.

A conventional feed roller 38 is mounted in the housing 30 above thecylinder 32. Thus, in operation, as seed cotton is fed in to the top ofthe housing 30, it is generally distributed by the feed roller 38, theneffectively combed and teased by the spikes 36 of the cylinder 32 as itrotates in the direction indicated by arrow B in FIGS. 13 and 15, andonly allowed through the gap between the spikes 36 and the blade 34 tobe fed onto the conveyor surface in a layer which includes only one seedat a time.

A deflector strip 39 projects obliquely upwards from a wall of the airflow chamber 50 towards the cylinder 32 to prevent any seed cottoncarried around by the cylinder 32 as it rotates from falling backtowards the conveyor 10.

Upon the conveyor surface, and referring now to FIG. 15 and operation ofthe machine, the seeds tend to lodge momentarily across the top of thegaps between the slats 20 of the conveyor. The fibre adheres to thesurface layer 22 of the slats. The seeds then encounter the blade 40 andare severed, tossed up into the chamber 50 and blown to one side of theconveyor for collection. The fibre passes below the blade 40, which isin the above described ‘floating’ contact with the conveyor surface. Anair suction device 52 with an elongate transversely extending inlet 54is mounted above the conveyor 10 immediately downstream of the blade 40in the direction of travel of the conveyor upper run. This suctiondevice 52 draws air upwards between adjacent slats 20 of the conveyor inorder to remove separated fibre from said upper surface, as showndiagrammatically in FIG. 15.

The foregoing is illustrative and not limitative of the scope of theinvention and its various aspects. Variations are possible in otherembodiments, not only in respect of the features and dimensions wherethe possibility of variation has already been mentioned, but also in anyother detail of construction not specified in the relevant independentclaims appended hereto.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, thesingular encompasses the plural unless the context otherwise requires.In particular, where the indefinite article is used, the specificationis to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity,unless the context requires otherwise.

Features described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodimentor example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to anyother aspect, embodiment or example described herein unless incompatibletherewith.

1. Ginning apparatus for separating cotton seed from fiber comprising: adriven conveyor having a linear flight extending for linear movement ina forward direction of travel, said linear flight having an uppersurface for receiving and transporting seed cotton, which upper surfaceis roughened so that cotton fiber will adhere to it, and a bladeextending transversely across said linear flight and having a lowersurface in contact with said upper surface of said linear flight todefine a pinch point therebetween so that adhesion of the cotton fiberto said flight upper surface pulls the fiber through the pinch pointwhile simultaneously separating the fiber from the seed, characterizedin that the driven conveyor providing the linear flight comprises aplurality of spaced apart slats, each extending transversely across saidlinear flight and each having a respective upper layer of surfaceroughened material to define thereby said linear flight upper surface,in which respect said upper surface is discontinuous by virtue oftransverse gaps between the respective slat upper layers.
 2. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein an air flow chamber is arranged above theblade so that seed separated from the fiber at the pinch point can beremoved transversely of the direction of travel of the linear flight viasaid chamber.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each gap betweenadjacent slat upper layers is between 2.5 mm and 7.5 mm.
 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 1, 2 or 3 claim 1 wherein the driven conveyor furthercomprises a pair of substantially parallel endless chains, each formedof plural chain links, between which the respective slats are mounted.5. Apparatus according to claim 4 further comprising respective guidetracks at each side of the linear flight, the chains having rollersmounted thereto whereby the chains are guided along the respective guidetracks.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 4 further comprising respectivepairs of sprockets at each end of the linear flight, the chains havingrollers mounted thereto whereby the chains are guided, each in anendless loop, around the respective pairs of sockets.
 7. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein the blade is mounted at an angle relativeto said linear flight upper surface so that only a blade tip portion ofits lower surface is in contact with said upper surface.
 8. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the blade has a rearregion formed with a recess so that only a blade tip portion of itslower surface is in contact with said linear flight upper surface. 9.Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a blade mountingassembly which includes a fluid actuated piston, said piston beingarranged to resiliency bias the blade so that the lower surface of theblade remains in floating contact with said upper surface of said linearflight.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising at leastone air suction device mounted above the linear flight and downstream ofthe blade in the direction of travel of the linear flight and soarranged to draw air upwards between adjacent slats of the conveyor andthrough the gaps in the linear flight upper surface in order to removeseparated fiber from said upper surface.
 11. Apparatus according toclaim 1 further comprising a seed cotton feed assembly mounted above thelinear flight and upstream of the blade, said assembly comprising ahousing, into which seed cotton is supplied and having an outletextending transversely of the direction of the travel of the linearflight, a cylinder rotatably mounted inside the housing and having anaxis extending transversely of the direction of travel of the linearflight and a breaker blade mounted inside the housing and extendingparallel to the cylinder axis, the cylinder having a plurality ofradially projecting spikes distributed over its surface, the position ofthe cylinder relative to the breaker blade and the length and spacing ofthe spikes being selected to distribute seed cotton evenly and at apredetermined thickness across the linear flight.
 12. Apparatusaccording to claim 11 wherein the position of the cylinder relative tothe breaker blade and the length and spacing of the spikes are selectedto distribute seed cotton at a thickness less than twice the size of thecotton seed so that only a single seed is fed onto the linear flight atany transverse position.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein theradially projecting spikes are distributed over the surface of thecylinder in a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinallyarranged rows, alternate rows being displaced longitudinally (axially ofthe cylinder) relative to adjacent rows.
 14. Ginning apparatus forseparating cotton seed from fiber comprising a roughened surface forreceiving and transporting seed cotton in a forward direction of traveland a blade extending transversely across said surface relative to saiddirection of travel, said blade having a lower surface in contact withsaid roughened surface to define a pinch point therebetween so thatcotton fiber adhering to said roughened surface is pulled through thepinch point and the seed can be separated therefrom above the blade,characterized by provision of a mounting assembly mounting said blade,said mounting assembly including a fluid actuated piston arranged toresiliently bias the blade so that the lower surface of the bladeremains in floating contact with said roughened surface.
 15. Apparatusaccording to claim 14 wherein the lower surface of the blade has a rearregion formed with a recess so that only a blade tip portion of itslower surface is in contact with said roughened surface.
 16. Apparatusaccording to claim 14 wherein the blade is mounted at an angle relativeto said roughened surface so that only a blade tip portion of its lowersurface is in contact with said surface.
 17. Ginning apparatus forseparating cotton seed from fiber comprising a roughened surface forreceiving and transporting seed cotton in a forward direction of traveland a blade extending transversely across said surface relative to saiddirection of travel, said blade having a lower surface in contact withsaid roughened surface to define a pinch point therebetween so thatcotton fiber adhering to said roughened surface is pulled through thepinch point and the seed can be separated therefrom above the blade,characterized by provision of a seed cotton feed assembly mountedupstream of the blade, said assembly comprising a housing into whichseed cotton is supplied, and having an outlet extending transversely ofthe direction of the travel of the roughened surface, a cylinderrotatably mounted inside the housing and having an axis extendingtransversely of the direction of travel of the roughened surface and abreaker blade mounted inside the housing and extending parallel to thecylinder axis, the cylinder having a plurality of radially projectingspikes distributed over its surface, the position of the cylinderrelative to the breaker blade and the length and spacing of the spikesbeing selected to distribute seed cotton evenly and at a predeterminedthickness across the roughened surface.
 18. Apparatus according to claim17 wherein the position of the cylinder relative to the breaker bladeand the length and spacing of the spikes are selected to distribute seedcotton at a thickness less than twice the size of the cotton seed sothat only a single seed is fed onto the roughened surface at anytransverse position.
 19. Apparatus according to claim 17 wherein theradially projecting spikes are distributed over the surface of thecylinder in a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinallyarranged rows, alternate rows being displaced longitudinally axially ofthe cylinder relative to adjacent rows.